“You can’t promise that,” she said.
“Maybe not, but I’d rather live in a world where we can still make promises to one another, than one where we’re all too afraid to. I promise to keep you safe, no matter how impossible the odds, okay?”
Eve sobbed and then said, “Okay.”
After a while Eve managed to get a hold of herself. She looked up at him again with clammy cheeks and watery eyes. Nick thought she looked beautiful – human and innocent. It was at that point that he decided in his heart he would keep his promise to protect her. He needed to be responsible for her and keep her safe. He had failed Deana and he had failed James, but he would not fail Eve. He could not.
I need to do something right.
Setting himself a mission and giving himself a responsibility made Nick feel stronger. It gave him back the purpose he had lost when he stopped being a father and a husband. It was the part of him that had been missing. Now that it was back, he felt complete again.
He kissed the top of Eve’s head. “Come on. I think it’s about time we all had a little fun.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Annaliese knew things were going to get tense. When she’d entered the restaurant and found Shawcross half-conscious on the floor and the two prisoners holding knives, she had known the best reaction would be to stay calm and not take sides. If she’d taken a hostile attitude then things might have become volatile.
As it stood, she had decided to trust Nick’s judgement, for now. She knew that his inclination was towards peace rather than confrontation. He wouldn’t have used violence unless it had been necessary. Loud mouthed Dave, on the other hand, was a different kind of man altogether. He was a small man with large ambitions, just like Shawcross. In Annaliese’s experience, men like Dave and Shawcross were trouble; like bullies who became police officers or politicians, abusers of power.
I just hope he doesn’t become a problem.
Mike caught up with Annaliese just as she was entering the zoo. The animals were due their feeding and she wanted something to do.
“I heard Shawcross went at Dave with a knife,” Mike said.
“Apparently. I wasn’t there. I wouldn’t put it past him, though. He’s a petty man with a bad temper.”
“You’re not a fan then?”
Annaliese shrugged. “Not a fan of most people, but I’ve seen Shawcross treat his staff like dirt in the past, enough times to know that he views other people as commodities. He won’t like not being in charge.”
“You think there’ll be more trouble?”
“I’d almost bet on it. The only thing more dangerous than the infected people down the bottom of this hill are the people still alive on top of it. It takes a lot to survive. People will do anything.”
“You included?”
Annaliese nodded. “If it comes to it, yeah, of course.”
“Well, I’m glad I came prepared then.” Mike lifted up his shirt and showed her a crude vest of armour. “Made it out of some binders from the offices,” he said. “I don’t want to be the next one to get stabbed.”
She laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
Annaliese shrugged her shoulders. “It’s just that before all this happened, I hated my life. I spent every night trying to drink myself to death. I suppose I was committing slow suicide, not brave enough to do it the hard way. It took the end of the world to make me realise how much I actually want to live and how much people could still make me smile.”
Mike stopped and stared at her. “You wanted to die?”
She nodded. It felt good to admit such weakness to him. It was like unloading a burden from her soul. “I was just done with things. Tired, you know?”
“Why?”
“Because one day I was pregnant and married, living in a three bed semi, and the next I was giving birth to a stillborn baby, divorced, and alone in a cramped flat.”